Proved Discoveries and Productive Capacity
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PROVED DISCOVERIES AND PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF CRUDE OIL, NATURAL GAS, AND NATURAL GAS LIQUIDS IN THE UNITED STATES A REPORT OF THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM COUNCIL 1961 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PROVED PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS RESERVES AND AVAILABILITY MAY 15, 1961 CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE: L. F. McCOLLUM NATIONAL PETROLEUM COUNCIL OFFICERS walter S. Hallanan, Chairman R. G. Follis, Vice-Chairman James V. Brown, Secretary-Treasurer HEADQUARTERS OFFICE 601 Commonwealth Building Telephone: 1625 K Street, N. W. Washington 6, D. C. EXecutive 3-5167 NATIONAL PETROLEUM COUNCIL'S COMMITTEE ON PROVED PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS RESERVES AND AVAILABILITY (1960) CHAIRMAN: * L. F. McCollum President Continental Oil Company Houston, Texas VICE CHAIRMAN (Crude Oil) VICE CHAIRMAN (Natural Gas & NGL) Morgan J. Davis N. C. McGowen President Chairman of the Board Humble Oil & Refining Co. United Gas Corporation Houston, Texas Shreveport, Louisiana ASSISTANT TO CHAIRMAN ASSISTANT TO CHAIRMAN (Crude Oil) (Natural Gas and NGL) Stuart E. Buckley Ed Parkes Humble Oil & Refining Co. United Gas Corporation Houston, Texas Shreveport, Louisiana SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO CHAIRMAN ASSISTANT TO CHAIRMAN A. I. Levorsen Henry G. Corey Consulting Geologist Continental Oil Company Tulsa, Oklahoma Houston, Texas SECRETARY: Vincent M. Brown National Petroleum Council washington, D. C. H. S. M. Burns, President J. C. Donnell II, President Shell Oil Company The Ohio Oil Company New York, New york Findlay, Ohio James Comerford Paul Endacott, President Chairman of the Board Phillips Petroleum Company Consolidated Natural Gas Co. Bartlesville, Oklahoma New York, New York ****** *GOVERNMENT CO-CHAIRMAN Charles L. Moore, Office of Oil and Gas U. S. Department of Interior, Washington, D. C. - 2 - R. G. Follis C. Pratt Rather, President Chairman of the Board Southern Natural Gas Company Standard Oil Company of calif. Birmingham, Al abama San Francisco, California W. M. Shoemaker, PreSident Alvin C. Hope, President National Stripper Well Assn. Independent Petroleum Assn. of c/o Forest Oil Corporation America Bradford, Pennsylvania San Antonio, Texas John E. Swearingen, Chief A. Jacobsen Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board President Amerada Petroleum Corporation Standard Oil Company (Indiana) New York, New York Chicago, Illinois Paul Kayser J. Ed. Warren, President Chairman of the Board Cities Service Company El Paso Natural Gas Company New York, New York El Paso, Texas Charles E. Webber, President Augustus C. Long Natural Gasoline Assn. of Chairman of the Board America Texaco, Inc. c/o Sun Oil Company New York, New York Philadelphia, Pennsylvania D. A. McGee, President W. C. Whaley Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Inc. Chairman, Executive Committee Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Sunray Mid-Continent Oil Co. Tulsa, Oklahoma R. L. Milligan, President The Pure Oil Company S. D. Whiteman, President Palatine, Illinois Kansas-Nebraska Natural Gas Company, Inc. Albert L. Nickerson, President Hastings, Nebraska Socony Mobil Oil Company, Inc. New York, New York George S. Young, Chairman of the Board L. T. Potter, President The Columbia Gas System, Inc. American Gas Association New York, New York and, President Lone Star Gas Company Dallas, Texas COORDINATING SUBCOMMITTEE FOR PROVED CRUDE OIL RESERVES AND AVAILABILITY Of The National Petroleum Council's Committee on Proved Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserves and Availability (1960) CHAIRMAN: * Stuart E. Buckley Humble Oil & Refining Company Houston, Texas SECRETARY: Vincent M. Brown National Petroleum Council Washington, D. C. Ben C. Belt C. L. Larson, Jr. Houston Club Building Pan American Petroleum Corporation Houston, Texas Casper, Wyoming N. G. Dumbros D. D. Little The Ohio Oil Company Standard Oil Company of Findlay, Ohio California San Francisco, California Minor S. Jameson, Jr. Independent Petroleum Assn. C. E. Turner of America Phillips Petroleum Company Washington, D. C. Bartlesville, Oklahoma J. Paul Jones Pennsylvania Grade Crude Oil Association Bradford, Pennsylvania ******** *GOVERNMENT CO-CHAIRMAN Charles L. Moore, Office of Oil and Gas U. S. Department of Interior, Washington, D. C. ~- COORDINATING SUBCOMMITTEE FOR NATURAL GAS AND NATURAL GAS LIQUIDS RESERVES AND AVAILABILITY of the National Petroleum Council's Committee on Proved Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserves and Availabiltiy (1960) CHAIRMAN: * Ed Parkes President United Gas Corporation Shreveport, Louisiana ASSISTANT TO CHAIRMAN: B. B. Gibbs Union Producing Company Shreveport, Louisiana SECRETARY: Vincent M. Brown National Petroleum Council Washington, D. C. J. R. Arrington E. D. Pressler Humble Oil & Refining Company Humble Oil & Refining Co. Houston, Texas Houston, Texas C. C. Barnett Donald R. Scherer United Gas Pipe Line Company Southern Natural Gas Co. Shreveport, Louisiana Jackson, Mississippi William F. Burke C. E. Turner Lone Star Gas Company Phillips Petroleum Company Dallas, Texas Bartlesville, Oklahoma R. O. Garrett M. T. Whitaker Texas Gas Exploration Corp. Mobil Oil Company Houston, Texas Santa Fe Springs, Calif. J. V. Goodman A. H. Wieder Equitable Gas Company Shell Oil Company Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Denver, Colorado Theodore I. Gradin American Gas Association New York, New York * GOVERNMENT CO-CHAIRMAN Frederick S. Lott, Office of Oil and Gas U. S. Department of Interior, Washington, D. C. NATIONAL PETROLEUM COUNCIL (Established by the Secretary of the Interior) 1625 K STREET, N. W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. Walter S. Hallanan Chairman R. G. Follis Vice-Chairman May IS, 1961 James V. Brown Secretary-Treasurer Mr. Walter S. Hallanan, Chairman National Petroleum Council 1625 K Street, N. W. Washington 6, D. C. Dear Mr. Hallanan: On September 30, 1959, Mr. Elmer F. Bennett, Acting Secretary of the Interior, sent a letter to the Chairman of the National Petroleum Council requesting a study of proved reserves and productive capacity of crude oil. Subsequent letters clarified and expanded that request. In accordance with recommendations of the Agenda Committee, at meetings on October 19, 1959, and March 21, 1960, a Committee on Proved Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserves and Availability was appointed and was asked to develop the following information: (1) The proved reserves of crude oil by PAD districts arranged according to the year of discovery of each field. Information available as of December 31, 1959, was to be employed in the analysis, but the tabulation by field discovery dates was to terminate with the year 1954. (2) The proved reserves of natural gas and natural gas liquids compiled on a comparable basis to the proved crude oil reserves. (3) The drilled and undrilled proved acreage on December 31, 1959, if feasible. (4) The productive capacities of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as of January I, 1960, with projections for January I, 1961, and January I, 1962. The individual letters requesting the above information are reproduced in Exhibits A through F. The Committee was authorized to include in its report appropriate comments, clarifications, and explanation necessary for the proper understanding and evaluation of the data. To develop the information that had been requested, the Committee on Proved Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserves and Avail ability established two coordinating subcommittees. One was responsible for the crude oil portion of the study. The other was responsible for the natural gas and natural gas liquids portion. Many additional working groups were appointed. These groups were comprised, for the most part, of engineers and geologists who have had many years of experience with the problems involved in studies of this nature. In all, over 100 men served directly in the pre paration of this report. Also, information was obtained locally through the generous cooperation of many producers, pipeline companies, and gasoline plant operators, both large and small. Because of the exceedingly large number of individual fields and reservoirs in the United States and t~e large variations in well spacing, it was not found feasible to develop dcta on the drilled and undrilled proved acreage. The results of the Committee's studies are presented in this report in several sections that deal separately with discoveries of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, and with the productive capacities of these materials. The report also contains a number of comments and explanations with respect to· proper interpretation of the data and the limitations of certain possible interpretations. The most important of these comments are found in the summary section which follows this letter. Respectfully submitted, /s/ L. F. McCollum L. F. McCollum, Chairman NPC Committee on Proved Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserves and Availability (1960) SUMMARY This report combines in a series of separate sections the results of studies made during the year 1960 by the Coor dinating Subco~mittee for Proved Crude Oil Reserves and Avail ability and the Coordinating Subcommittee for Natural Gas and Ndtural Gas Liquids Reserves and Availability in response to a series of requests by the U. S. Department of Interior to the National Petroleum Council. Two main subjects are dealt with: first, historical tabulations of discoveries of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States and, second, estimates of the productive capacities of these materials as of January 1, 1960, with projections of productive capacities for January 1, 1961, and January 1, 1962. Discoveries The historical tabulations of proved discoveries